That BRAT wasn't the only interesting Subaru there, however; how about a clean, rust-free 1996 Subaru SVX, complete with exquisitely 1990s metallic teal-green paint? Let's take a look at this fine piece of automotive history.

These cars are not uncommon in self-service wrecking yards nowadays; here's a pair I found in Colorado yards not long ago.

Murilee Martin

The SVX was big, fast, wild-looking, and luxurious, unlike anything the world had come to expect from Subaru. Sure, they'd made the reasonably weird and somewhat quick XT back in the 1980s, but nobody was ready for this. Sales figures in the United States were never overwhelming during the car's 1992-1997 sales run, but they're not hard to find in wrecking yards today; in recent years, I've seen this '93 and this '95, and I've passed over others that I didn't photograph.

All SVXs came with automatic transmissions.

Murilee Martin

You got a dual-overhead-cam 3.3-liter EG33 boxer-six engine with 231 turbocharged naturally-aspirated horsepower in the SVX. Front- and all-wheel-drive versions were available (almost all buyers opted for the AWD SVX, which is what we're looking at here), and all SVXs came with an automatic transmission. Subaru didn't have a manual transmission that could handle this engine's output… but it turned out that the slushbox wasn't so good at holding together, either, and transmission woes proved to be the biggest headache for SVX owners. These days, you'll see the occasional Impreza with an EG33 swap mated to a WRX gearbox, but that wasn't an option during the SVX's heyday.

Subaru doesn't do weird anymore.

Murilee Martin

It's hard to imagine Subaru— or, for that matter, any major car manufacturer— building something as risky as the SVX today.

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In Japan, the Alcyone SVX (as it was known there) got this uncharacteristically sedate ad.

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"It thinks it's a BMW, only better."

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